


Welcome to Jericho

by Ryhalla



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Crack and Angst, Gen, How Do I Tag, Implied Sexual Content, Jericho Crew (Detroit: Become Human) as Family, Minor Original Character(s), Not Beta Read, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Thirium (Detroit: Become Human), YK500, dealing with stress with sarcasm, i just wanted the jericrew to be besties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 15:24:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20584730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryhalla/pseuds/Ryhalla
Summary: The Jericrew passes the time by swapping stories about their lives before they arrived at Jericho.***Winters at Jericho were never pleasant. It was hardly to be expected what with it being housed inside of a run down freighter. Pockmarked with holes from being battered by the elements for years, the only way to keep warm inside was to stay in the center chambers. The androids took to gathering together in dog piles around lit fire barrels to stave off the frigid air. It was how the group's trio of accidental leaders found themselves stacked on one another like fallen Jenga blocks.





	Welcome to Jericho

Winters at Jericho were never pleasant. It was hardly to be expected what with it being housed inside of a run down freighter. Pockmarked with holes from being battered by the elements for years, the only way to keep warm inside was to stay in the center chambers. The androids took to gathering together in dog piles around lit fire barrels to stave off the frigid air. It was how the group's trio of accidental leaders found themselves stacked on one another like fallen Jenga blocks. Simon was lying on his stomach with his arms propping up his head on Josh's legs. North's own legs were draped across Simon's back with her head pillowed on Josh's stomach. The metal floor wasn't exactly comfortable but at least the pile was warm. Ish. The temperature was all the more pronounced when Simon sneezed.

"For the love of rA9, someone say something." North suddenly blurted.

Simon sniffled. "Like what?"

"I don't know but a room with this many people shouldn't be this quiet. It's weirding me out. Tell a story or something."

Josh hummed for a moment to gather his thoughts. "Mmm OK. I've got a story about the wondrous land of college classrooms," he began dramatically. "When finals week rolls around students get.. let's call it interesting. One of my students left all their work till the last minute so they had to pull a few all nighters. To stay awake they rotated between shots of vodka, Monster, and espresso."

North nodded sagely, as if the student's questionable cocktail was the most normal thing in the world. "Solid plan. Did they die?"

"No." Josh replied, not even phased.

"Damn."

"Damn North," Simon joked. After spending a few months together they had already gotten used to North's humor. They knew she didn't actually want some dumb kid to die.

"They lived and finished their paper. Unfortunately in their drunken stupor, they wrote my name as that kinda hot dingleberry."

There was a moment of silence before his two cohorts broke into fits of laughter.

Simon couldn't manage much more than a quiet drawn out, "Wow."

"Disrespectful as shit," North chortled.

"Which would have been fine--"

"It would've??" said Simon in disbelief.

"Nice. Imma call you that from now on." North vowed.

Josh continued on, ignoring their exclamations. "--if they hadn't also submitted a short story about the time they sucked off one the professors in the staff room."

It was fortunate that androids didn't need to breathe because Simon and North were positively wheezing at this point. "Why." Simon managed to get out between giggles. "Is that even next to their assignments?"

"Simon. They're mixing alcohol and Monster; is their lack of organizational skills that surprising?"

"I don't know what was more painful," Josh wondered sadly. "The fact that that got downloaded into my skull or their grammar."

"Rip," North said in mock sympathy.

"I think I deviated on spot."

"Speaking of blowjobs."

Simon turned his head to stare at North. Considering their current positions all North could see was his eye brows trying to flee into his hairline. "That's not a good transition, North."

"Shut up," she replied, halfheartedly kicking his back. "This story is wholesome."

"How's that work?"

"You'll see. So this drunk guy comes into the Eden Club, right. Normally that'd mean trouble but instead of molesting anyone he just flopped onto the display glass. He started telling everyone stories about life and how it sucks major booty."

The juvenile term was so PG and unexpected Simon couldn't help but start chuckling again. _Oh rA9 we need hobbies_, Simon thought. _My humor is disintegrating faster than this ship._ There wasn't much to occupy the endless empty hours with at Jericho. Often times the ship felt like a decrepit wax museum with half the androids staring off into space in standby. Some did it because they were bored like Simon. Other simply didn't know what else to do with themselves. When your entire existence revolved around taking orders, the void left by not having them was more than some could handle.

Professor Josh was not as amused. "What are you, 3?"

"Why yes," North confirmed.

"Hey. Hey. I'm 4 and a half ok." Simon said very seriously. As if the year made any difference to beings that could live for centuries.

Josh just rolled his eyes at them.

"What. I can't say ass, there are children present." North said solemnly as she gestured towards the crowd around them with a sweep of her arms. She was in fact referring to one person in particular and they weren't in the mood for this running gag.

"If you don't drop the kid shit, I will steal your knee caps," grumbled a brunette YK500 on the other side of the room. "I am _literally_. Older than all of you," Candace snapped.

The YK500s were designed to appear about 10 years old, but being one of the earliest models on the market meant Candace was older than they looked. Despite the lot of them all being androids, the disparity of seeing a toddler swearing like a sailor was odd. She usually only went on a rant while repairing their injuries. Candace was fiercely protective of everyone in Jericho and had no patience for anyone who got hurt looking for parts. It had some jokingly calling Candace lil grams, short for little grandma. And by some, they mean North. Lil grams did not approve.

Simon snickered. "I think its a bit late for censoring."

"Fine, fine," North sighed. "Another guy named Nick comes in. He recognizes the flopped over dude and shouts 'Randy? Issat you?'" North perfectly mimicking the man's deep voice. She quickly switched back to her own voice. "Turns out they were old sweethearts that got separated after a flood in Louisiana years ago. Idiots though the other was dead and were very happy to see each other. Nick even did a little Disney spin hug."

"Aw that's sweet." The thought of someone finding their loved one after losing them for so long made his biocomponents all fuzzy. Simon loved when things worked out positively.

"Wait wait wait," Josh cut in. "What did that have to do with blowjobs?"

"Randy tried to blow Nick in the hallway before the manager shooed them into a room."

"There it is," Josh said with a snap of his fingers.

"See? I can be nice about humans," North said with a smug cross of her arms.

"Actually I've got a story about that too," Simon chimed in.

"About blowjobs?" North asked in surprise.

"About people drinking, jeez," he retorted.

"I used to belong to a small family," Simon began. The thought of being property felt strange to consider now. Before becoming deviant, it never would have crossed his mind. He couldn't help but shiver as he wondered if he thought at all back then. "They had a daughter named Tara. Her parents were busy working or drinking and they didn't have the funds for a baby sitter, so they got me. Honestly, I think they just got me to guard the liquor cabinet," Simon bitterly noted.

"They sound lovely," Josh sarcastically said. He had overheard stories from his students about this sort of thing. It bothered him how often it came up.

"Turns out that didn't matter cuz Tara had her own stash. She'd take me with her when she snuck out into the woods for drunk karaoke. We'd spend hours out there just shouting Old Town Road at the sky."

Josh couldn't tell if he wanted to laugh or groan. "Don't remind me of that old ass song. The kids were on a retro phase and would not stop playing it."

"Old but gold," he joked. "I almost miss that kid," Simon murmured wistfully.

"Would you go back?" North quietly asked. She didn't miss that hint of longing in his voice. "If you could see them again?"

Their LED's spun yellow as they considered her sudden question. It didn't take long for them to come to an answer.

"Hell no," Simon said candidly. Tara was a nice kid but was prone to violent fits like her parents. She'd always apologize, say she didn't mean it. But Simon was one bad accident away from shutting down and he wasn't about to take that chance on nostalgia.

Josh shared the sentiment with a prompt "Nope." Getting jumped by drunk students once was more than enough for the instructor. He'd stick to teaching young androids for now. At least they actually paid attention. In the back of his mind he hoped that maybe one day he'd be able to teach a room full of humans and androids. Today was not that day.

"Ditto," North agreed with a bitter laugh. "Looks like we're stuck together till shutdown." She held up a fist. In defiance of what was done to them. In solidarity to show they weren't alone. In hope that one day things would be different.

Josh placed his hand over hers. "Til shutdown."

"Til shutdown," Simon quietly conceded, adding his hand to the pile.

The brief moment of camaraderie was interrupted by a loud crash of metal somewhere above them. The old ship's creaks of protest were followed by a pile of something landing with a dull thud near Josh's feet. The resounding echo grabbed the attention of every android napping in stand by. A sea of red and yellow LED's spun around the room as everyone blinked awake at the sudden commotion.

"Ow," groaned a new voice.

"What in the crap was that." North sputtered and rolled over into a defensive crouch get a better look. Only an android could have made it here but Simon couldn't blame her for being so cautious. It was how they survived this long.

"Its a new friend," Josh said in a dead sing song voice as he stared blankly at the ceiling. Josh didn't even bother getting up. He wanted to stay in his semi warm spot for a few more seconds before they had to give the standard orientation to their sad abode. It wasn't that he didn't want to help out the new android. He just wasn't looking forward to seeing the despair hit the new comers face when they realized that Jericho wasn't some paradise away from humans. It was just a place they could shut down in peace without having someone try to kick their skull in. That disappointment never got easier. No matter how many times he saw it.

Lil grams shared the sentiment. "Great, another one," she muttered as she curled in on herself. Another android she wouldn't be able to help. Another person to watch die. She wasn't ready to watch another life slip through her fingers again.

Simon looked up at the tan newcomer that was currently rubbing his head in confusion. His tattered clothes were completely soaked. The low light of the fire barrels was just enough to make out the dark blue patch on his right side. It steadily grew as thirium slowly spread into the remains of his shirt. Definitely injured but not life threatening. The stranger rummaged around for the flashlight he dropped in the pile of rusty metal that crashed down with him.

_There goes a chunk of the catwalk. Guess I'll add it on the 'to be repaired' list,_ Simon tiredly thought. That list got longer every passing moment. They were always short on something. What they managed to scrape together on supply runs simply wasn't enough to go around. More often than not they had to rely on parts from recently shut down androids to make repairs. They didn't have much to offer the new android but Simon would still welcome him to their little family. The new android's gaze met Simon's when he noticed Simon sitting up.

_Two different colored eyes_, he noted as he was momentarily distracted. It wasn't uncommon for androids to show up with mix mashed parts but he seemed different. Everyone in Jericho wore similar tired expressions of bitterness and fear. Some didn't have the energy for anything more than a blank stare. With him though, behind the anger was a glint of burning desire.

Maybe that replacement was recent. Must be since he didn't even noticed the sea of bodies surrounding him until Simon moved. His thirium pump twinged in sympathy for whatever befell this android. Maybe they'd be get him to open up later. It might take time, like with North, but better to share their miseries than stew in the pain. For now though, introductions were in order.

"Welcome to Jericho."

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a comic idea but I figured it would be faster to write it down. I wanted a snippet of them messing around since I imagine Jericho got boring with nothing to do.
> 
> Josh's nickname was based on that post about a student calling her professor "What's his nuts".  
https://twitter.com/Zoeyoxley/status/1042644630150569986/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1042644630150569986&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thrillist.com%2Fnews%2Fnation%2Fprofessor-whats-his-nuts-student-paper
> 
> This is my first time posting on AO3 so let me know if the formatting is weird. I'm only used to writing essays so short stories are entirely new waters. Writing tips are appreciated <3


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